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Delaware City Environmental Justice Partnership

In 2012 the Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club developed an environmental justice partnership with the Delaware City Environmental Coalition to assist the community in addressing their environmental justice concerns. The Delaware City Environmental Coalition was established in 2010 to obtain answers about air quality in the Delaware City Industrial Area.

Environmental Justice Partnerships allow Sierra Club chapters to provide support for local communities. The Environmental Justice and Community Partnerships program is a core part of the Sierra Club’s work to build partnerships to move the nation beyond coal and oil, and to create a just, healthy, and prosperous society.

Delaware City’s location inside an established Delaware Cancer Census Tract with along with its co-location in a heavy chemical corridor is an important place for our Chapter to begin our work.

Our air quality monitoring program with environmental justice partners, the Delaware City Environmental Coalition, kicked off on September 14, 2012 with a "Chemical Corridor Toxic Tour" of the surrounding environmental risks in the area, and the sampling locations where volunteers will deploy citizen air quality monitors, known as "buckets". Environmental Justice Intern Elisa Sarantschin guided the team of volunteers through locations including the Delaware City Refinery, t

Bucket Brigades are the fruition of community members being proactive in determining what toxins are in their environments with the ultimate goal of reducing exposure to harmful substances. By taking air samples, Bucket Brigades enable people to track pollution and aid in the process of combating environmental threats to the community. By documenting excessive amounts of pollution, using a basic set of tools (buckets), community members become more informed and are better equipped to deal with forces (refineries, industrial plants, wastes sites) that emit and wish to maintain the status quo.

Environmental Justice Partnerships allow Sierra Club chapters to provide support for local communities. The Environmental Justice and Community Partnerships program is a core part of the Sierra Club’s work to build partnerships to move the nation beyond coal and oil, and to create a just, healthy, and prosperous society.